KTFA:

Samson:  $297 billion ... The Global Bank Budget For "Artificial Intelligence" In 2021

12th September, 2020

A report by "Business Insider" said that artificial intelligence technologies in the field of finance include everything from voice assistance to fraud detection and task automation, as 80 percent of banks realize the benefits provided by artificial intelligence, which makes banks Al-Alamiah is moving to raise its technology budget to $ 297 billion by 2021.

According to the US economic site, with pressure from tech-savvy consumers, artificial intelligence is being applied by financial institutions through every financial service, such as personal finance, and one of the examples is Capital One's Eno, which predicts customer needs and also alerts them about suspected fraud or high The price of subscription services.

Then there is consumer financing, adopted by JPMorgan Chase, whose consumer banking services account for more than 50 percent of its net income; It adopts major fraud detection applications, as it applies a special algorithm to detect fraud patterns.

Every time a credit card transaction is processed, the transaction details are sent to the bank's mainframe computers, which decide whether the transaction is fraudulent or not. 

The site pointed out that the increasing consumer demand for digital offerings, and the threat posed by tech-savvy startups, will make financial institutions quickly adopt digital services, by 2021, as the IT budgets of global banks will rise to $ 297 billion.   LINK

Jimmyjj:  The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Morocco is going to allow flights from Israel. IMO, that means look for Morocco to be the next country to sign a peace treaty with Israel (maybe next Friday,  as per the current pattern?). I wonder if Morocco is wanting to get in on the Iraq rv bonanza.

Samson:  After the UAE and Bahrain, the Israeli media is talking about a wider Arab normalization

13th September, 2020

The Hebrew Channel 12 reported, on Saturday, that US President Donald Trump is planning new diplomatic work to push for broader normalization between Israel and the Arab countries.

The channel confirmed that this step will lie with Trump's help in operating direct flights between Israel and Morocco.

This news comes as, in recent weeks, Israel, with US mediation, reached two historic agreements to normalize relations with the UAE and Bahrain.   LINK

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Samson:  Plasschaert: The Sistani authority calls on the government to open the major corruption files

13th September, 2020

The representative of the United Nations in Iraq, Jenin Blashart, confirmed today, Sunday, that the Supreme Authority, Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani, called during her meeting, the government to open major corruption files.

"The Sistani reference is of great importance to the United Nations," Blashart said, in a press conference she held in Najaf, after meeting with the supreme authority, pointing out that she "discussed with Sistani's reference the procedures for preparing for early elections."

She added, "We have confirmed with the Sistani authority that the elections will be held on time and in a fair and just law."

Plasschaert warned that "delaying or holding elections in a way that does not meet the requirements is a great risk." And she continued: "The reference Sistani called on the government to control the border crossings and open major corruption files, in addition to improving the performance of the security forces and exposing those who committed criminal acts such as murder and assassination."

Blashardt arrived this morning in the province of Najaf, while she met the Supreme Authority, Mr. Ali Al-Hussaini Al-Sistani.    LINK

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Samson:  Iraqis comment on Al-Kazemi's visit to Kurdistan: a message of reassurance

13th September, 2020
The Iraqi coalition commented, on Sunday, on the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to the Kurdistan region.

Commenting on Al-Kazemi’s visit, the coalition’s deputy, Hussein Arab, said: “The visit is a message of reassurance and real and strong understanding, through the prime minister's descent to the streets in the region and the important places and agreement on a settlement mechanism to end the differences and the outlets placed on the understanding table.”

Arab expected that "the results of the visit will bear fruit in the next stage, as one of the most important problems facing us is the displacement camps, some of which are spread in the regions of the region, and during the visit the semi-final agreement was made to close the file of the displaced camps."

He pointed out that "the region’s salaries are subject to the final agreement and the control of the federal government over the border crossings, and despite the differences regarding the oil and gas law, the consensus preference regarding its passage during the current session will contribute to regulating the relationship between the center and the region in this field."   LINK

Samson:  The Iraqi parliament sets the price of a barrel of oil at $ 40 - $ 50 in the 2021 budget

13th September, 2020

On Sunday, the Financial Committee of the Iraqi Parliament set the price of one barrel of oil at 40-50  dollars in the draft general budget bill for the year 2021.

Committee member Jamal Cougar told Shafaq News, "The 2021 draft budget will be different from the 2020 budget, given that it contains job grades and the confirmation of contractors on permanent staffing according to the mechanisms of deletion and creation and the status of employees for retirement in previous years."

He added, "The 2021 budget will be under an operational cover more than what is investment, given that the government does not have sufficient funds to provide investment opportunities."

And Cougar stated, "The price of one barrel of oil will range between "40-50" dollars in the draft budget for 2021, given that the government depends on oil revenues to structure and build the draft budget.

It is noteworthy that Iraq did not approve the financial budget for the current year 2020 due to the resignation of the previous government at the beginning of this year under the weight of unprecedented popular protests, and then the outbreak of the Corona epidemic in the country, which caused a financial crisis that resulted from a significant drop in oil prices.   LINK

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Samson:  Parliamentary planning: The 2021 budget will include new funding sections

18:21 - 13/09/2020

The Parliamentary Strategic Planning Committee indicated, on Sunday, that the draft federal budget law for 2021 will include new funding sections for liberation from dependence on oil revenues.

Committee member Muhammad Karim said in a statement to "the information", that "the 2021 budget must depend on the funds of the border crossings and customs, as well as the imports issued from ministries such as the Ministry of Electricity, Education, Industry and so on," noting that "relying on oil only will set the budget With financial problems, as is the case in the 2020 budget.

He added that "the government must study the imports achieved in all ministries and make them new doors to finance the federal budget," indicating that "the government is responsible for preparing the federal budget for 2021 quickly and differently from the 2020 budget."

Yesterday, Saturday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that the federal budget bill for the year 2020 does not have sufficient cover for ten months. LINK

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Samson: Parliamentary Committee: The leakage from the 2020 budget indicates the existence of deficit and borrowing problems

13th September, 2020
The Parliamentary Finance Committee said, on Sunday, that what was leaked from the 2020 budget indicates that there are problems with deficit and borrowing.

Committee member Jamal Cougar said, "The official version of the 2020 budget has not reached Parliament yet, and what was leaked from it indicates that the budget contains many problems, whether in deficit or borrowing," noting that "the 2020 budget will be approved because it is a prelude to the 2021 budget." Containing job opportunities."

He added, "The government has not yet borrowed the external loan that Parliament voted for, which is estimated at five billion, but only benefited from the internal loan, because the conditions of the International Monetary Fund are harsh and the government has not been able to obtain a loan until now."    LINK

GodLover:  This article & many others are pretty telling in where we are in our speculative investment imo. 
1) The 2020 budget per this article is a prelude to the 2021 budget....remember they need this done for accounting purposes, along with other previous budgets per articles imo.
2) They can & likely will imo borrow from the IMF or others imo.
3) Per past articles, the 2020 budget will not include investments as the 2021 budget will imo.
4) Lets not forget the Kurds have a temp deal for this budget & a permanent deal/agreements are in the works for the 2021 budget per articles imo. This to me is very telling imo.
5) Per articles...at least implying article 140 will be included in 2021 budget....which is on the table for discussion with Kurds along with other things imo.
6) 2020 budget to be voted on before the white papers are to be sent is my interpretation per articles imo.
7) White papers are to be sent prior to or along with 2021 budget mid Oct is what I recall an article stated (can't remember for certain) imo.

Samson:  "The Bravest Man in the World" - An American who liberated 75 Iraqis from ISIS gives details of the operation

13th September, 2020

After he helped free 75 Iraqis from the grip of ISIS, the sergeant in the US Special Forces, Thomas Payne, became the first person from the "Delta" force to receive the Medal of Honor in the United States while he was alive.

 On Friday, US President Donald Trump presented the medal to the 36-year-old sergeant at a ceremony held at the White House to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Trump praised Payne's efforts that killed 20 ISIS terrorists and saved the lives of 75 prisoners during a "daring" raid against the militant organization in northern Iraq, considering him "one of the bravest men in the world."

Payne graduated from high school in South Carolina, joined the Army in 2002 as an infantry soldier and completed the basic airborne course at a military base in Georgia, finishing his army training program in 2003.

The incident dates back to October 22, 2015, when Payne was part of a joint raid carried out by the American Delta forces in cooperation with Kurdish special forces in the city of Hawija, south of Kirkuk, according to the station "ABC". The raid targeted an ISIS headquarters that housed about 75 Iraqis who were being held by the organization and was preparing to execute them, as confirmed by the former American sergeant.

The championship of Payne and his other teammates was pictured at the time with a camera attached to the helmet of a Kurdish Special Operations Forces member. Payne says that "the information available at the time confirms that the ISIS operatives dug graves shortly before, and if we do not act quickly, the hostages may be executed." Payne's team arrived by helicopter and conducted an airdrop on a building housing 38 hostages, while Kurdish forces were providing support on the ground.

As soon as the landing operation began, the team was exposed to intense fire by ISIS militants, which caused the death of one of Payne's colleagues, and he was the first American soldier to be killed in Iraq since the return of the forces to this country in 2014. Payne and his colleagues managed to free the hostages in the first building, moving to another building that caught fire in the clashes.

Despite the thick smoke from inside the building, Payne managed to enter and break the locks using an iron machine, freeing 37 other hostages and taking them to the helicopter.  With the building on the verge of collapsing on fire, Payne returned to the building under enemy fire to make sure that no prisoners were left behind.   LINK

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Samson:  A new record collapse of the Iranian riyal against the US dollar

13th September, 2020

The Iranian rial fell to a new low in light of the suffering of the economy as a result of the Corona epidemic and the US sanctions.

The foreign exchange rate website Bonbast.com stated that the dollar was sold by up to 263,500 riyals in the informal market, compared to 257,000 on Friday.

Dunia Al-Iqtisad daily newspaper said on its website that the dollar registered 260,800 Iranian riyals, 5100 riyals higher than Friday's price.

The currency lost about 49 percent of its value in 2020, after the decline in oil prices contributed to the economic crisis in Iran, which also recorded the largest number of deaths from Corona virus in the Middle East.  LINK